Fifteen years from now, the landscape in southwest Hanford will be vastly different. MMV Development's vision for the future Live Oak community in the underdeveloped southside was approved by the Hanford City Council Tuesday. The vote was 4-0, with Councilman Joaquin Gonzales absent.

The approval allows the developer to move forward with an ambitious long-term project.

The 390-acre project -- five years in the making -- will include an architecturally planned community that melds together neighborhoods made up of various home designs and lot sizes in the area bisected by 12th Avenue and bordered by Hume Avenue to the north and Houston Avenue to the south.

"We're very pleased with the approval. We think this is a new direction for growth in Hanford," said Norman Allinder, project manager. "We were challenged in court for annexation, but we prevailed. We did so much study on water and other biological impacts that these (environmentally concerned) groups wrote a letter saying we did a good job."

The project is huge by Hanford's standards: Once built out, the community with 1,560 single-family homes is projected to increase the city population by 4,680. Among other things, the plan includes alley access, recessed garages and pergolas to create a better streetscape, daylighted cul-de-sacs, some 50 acres of neighborhood parks, linear parks and open space.

Also, there will be walking and bike paths connecting neighborhoods with open space corridors preserving natural sloughs on both ends of the development.

Tuesday night's approval came only after an involved discussion among council members and hearing concerns expressed by residents and a nearby business.

Representing the Viking Ready-Mix concrete plant at 11th and Houston avenues, John Buada, a Fresno-based consultant, urged the city to require disclosures be made to all home buyers that they may be affected by noise, lighting and traffic from existing legal industrial activities.

"They love developments like this, but they also want to make sure they stay in business," Buada said.

Felix Desgadillo, a resident and a business owner in town, was concerned about the project's impact on the area's water supply, especially in light of the drought affecting farmers.

"There are a lot of wells out there [with water levels that] have dropped way down," Delgadillo said. "Now you're in competition with ag for water ... Farmgrounds in this area promote jobs."

The project's environmental impact report says the project won't significantly affect groundwater supplies or interfere substantially with groundwater recharge, as the project represents 11 percent of the city's 20-year water demand.

Peter Nicholas, a resident, was concerned today's economy won't support such a large housing project.

"Where are the market studies that prove that these homes will sell?" Nicholas questioned during the meeting and argued that there aren't enough jobs to support the population increase of more than 4,000 people.

Council members acknowledged these concerns are valid, but all supported the plan, which sets a blueprint for sustainable development for a large area, instead of a peace piecemeal approach. They were more concerned about the aesthetic and water conservation aspect of the plan.

Councilwoman Sue Sorensen was concerned the plan calls for more trees than required. She also called for imposing a condition to require drought-resistent plants for landscaping.

Councilman Dan Chin disagreed.

"I don't think the developer's wilingness to put more trees than required is such a bad thing," Chin said. Chin also said telling what to plant or not plant is "micromanagement" and opposed the move.

Sorensen also had a problem with so-called "Hollywood-style" drive strips, instead of conventional full concrete driveways because of concerns for maintenance and water use.

Fellow council members agreed with her on that matter, placing a stipulation in the project approval that developers would revise plans to build regular driveways.

Tuesday's council action approved the master plan as well as the first two of the six phases of the housing development planned as part of the project.

Allinder said his company will proceed with the engineering plans for the initial phases, which he said would take six months to complete. At the earliest, construction could begin in a year.

"How quickly we can go through that process will be driven by the market," Allinder said.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.

By the numbers

--1,560 homes will fill up the community

--12-15 years is how long MMV’s project team expects to take to build out the entire project

--4,359 is the projected number of population growth incurred by the development

--$16 million-plus in developmental impact fees, such as police and fire, will be paid to the city throughout the course of the project (figures don’t include storm water impact fees)

--37 percent of the cost for improving 12th-198 and 13th-198 interchanges will be borne by the developer.

Sources: MMV Development; Hanford Interim Planning Manager Cathy Cain

(Sept. 17, 2009)